Chapter 224 - Split Paths

"Jack? Where are you, man? Come on. We're leaving!"

Oliver called out to yet another empty room, but there was nobody there. He cursed the place for being so large that it was near impossible to find someone. But, that aside, Oliver was in a hurry to get out of here. He didn't want to stay here any longer than he had to.

"What the hell am I doing?"

After a few dead ends, Oliver only now realized something. He had Strider with him, making locating Jack a lot easier than opening every door there was.

With that, Oliver ordered the wolf to find Strider, in which case, didn't take very long for the wolf to lead Oliver where he needed to go. Although, the destination was a bit bizarre for Oliver's liking.

"Really?" Oliver asked as he approached Jack, "The indoor pool? You really made yourself comfortable, huh?"

"Hey, you can't blame me for having a nice jacuzzi in here," Jack rebutted, obviously relaxed.

"Whatever," Oliver rubbed the temple of his forehead, "Let's get out of here. Come on."

"What's the hurry? We've been here no longer than an hour. And, we've been at it for days, man. You finally got to where you needed to go, so can't you relax for a bit? There's no rush, and we've got time to kill. So, you know, chill out for a sec."

"We need to go," Oliver repeated with a much more serious overtone.

"Didn't you hear what I just sai-"

"Neana was with Rynold," Oliver deeply sighed as he stared at Jack with raised eyebrows.

"Why the hell didn't you start with that?" Jack reactively stood up in one swift motion. He then got out of the pool in a maddened hurry, expressing his worry about the situation. "Do you have any idea where she is? No, more importantly, did she get teleported along with Rynold?"

"I'll brief you on it later," Oliver dismissed, "But, she should be fine. Where's the gnome?"

"Your butler guy took the little man to some other place. I don't know where they went cause I was busy uh..."

"Great job," Oliver sarcastically responded, "Strider. You know what to do."

Just like that, the wolf ran off on his own, and Oliver followed not far behind. As they left, Oliver entrusted Jack to run to the car first and get the engine started.

Oliver ran behind Strider and soon stopped in the middle of a corridor that Oliver knew all too well. He then slowed down to a crawl as the Strider stood outside the door to the only room in the hallway. He knew where that door had led to and was somewhat hesitant to get any closer.

'Why did it have to be here?' Oliver sighed as he stood in

"Ah," Philip appeared from the only room in the corridor and greeted Strider, who stood by the doorframe. Philip then turned his head sideways and saw Oliver standing still.

"Sir?" he sincerely asked, "Are you here for your... peculiar guest?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded as he found the courage to step forward again. "Do you have any idea where he is or..?"

"Well, after your friend decided to stay in the jacuzzi, for the time being, your other guest insisted on touring the pavilion. I showed him to many rooms around the house and, before long, stopped here. Your sister is somewhat interested in knowing about your friend."

Peeking into the door, Oliver watched as his sister and the gnome were getting along. They were talking about things that seemed to revolve around the gnome's origins. And, inevitably, Oliver's relationship with the gnome.

"Hey," Oliver gently knocked, interrupting the ongoing conversation, "We're about to leave."

"Of course," the gnome jumped down from the chair and turned to the young girl sitting across it. "Thank you for your company, human. I appreciate the stories you have told me."

As the gnome walked towards Oliver, Oliver stood and awkwardly looked at his younger sister. They haven't seen each other in quite some time. But, unlike the rest of his family, Oliver only got along with his younger sister. Which, coincidentally, made things awkward when Oliver left.

"Well," Oliver cleared his throat as he looked away, "Uh... take care of yourself. See you."

"That's all you have to say to me?" his sister asked, a bit of shakiness in her voice. She was mad, just like anybody else would be in this situation, but what she needed now was an explanation.

"You're right, sis," Oliver sighed and looked at her in the eye, "You were right. And, uh, I'm sorry."

"What? Do you even hear yourself right now? You're not making any sense."

"Uh, guys," Oliver spoke to the other people in the room, "Can you please excuse me for a while? I'll meet you in the car. Jack should already be there." That said, Oliver closed the door behind him without waiting for an answer. He then let out a sharp breath in preparation for what he'd say next.

"I'm sorry for leaving you here. I know mom and dad aren't the best people to put up with, and maybe I should've brought you with me. And, look, you were right. You were right about them. I'm better off without our parents screwing us over."

"I can't believe it took you this long to realize that," Oliver's sister mocked him as she sat down on her bed. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Find a friend, then head home," Oliver answered without any hesitation in his voice.

"Okay, okay. You can go."

"What? Don't you want to come with me? I've found a place where you can be free from whatever the crap our parents want to put on you. I don't think you should stay here, Megan, not with our parents and not especially with Keith."

"Calm down, Oliver," Megan responded as she laid her back on the bed. "They don't treat me as bad as they do you. And, besides, I'm not you, remember? Even though Mom and Dad put a lot of burden on you, that doesn't mean they treated me the same."

Oliver fell silent as he realized his sister had a point. Their parents didn't treat any other person the way they did Oliver. It was clear as to the reason why, though, that Oliver knew it better than anyone else. He knew that tough love was his parents' approach towards raising Oliver.

Unfortunately, it was the same approach that drove him away.

"Fair point," Oliver nodded as he leaned against the wall, "But, you really think that you should stay here? There's a better life for you out there. I mean, it's dangerous, sure, but it beats sitting in here and doing nothing."

"Ah, but I like my life here, big bro," Megan answered with a chuckle, "I'm comfortable here. Instead of running around and getting in harm's way, I can relax and live out my life here."

"You're serious?" Oliver sincerely asked. He didn't want to go against his own sister's decisions, but it didn't hurt to doubt her intentions.

"Yeah, I am. Like I said, I'm not like you. You want to go out and make your stance in the world. I get that. But, I don't share the same thinking. I'd rather spend time here with the family. You know, live out my life in a comfortable place. Besides, somebody gotta have to look out for them when you're not here."

"Heh," Oliver scoffed as he pushed himself off the wall, "I didn't expect my baby sister to become mature all of a sudden. But, well, I guess I can't really change your mind, huh?"

"No, you can't," Megan sat up, "I'm glad we talked after so long."

"And, I'm glad that you went out on a limb and talked to the gnome. Certainly didn't expect you to take the initiative in talking to someone. Where's the shy and timid sister I grew up with?"

"You've been gone for a long time, Oliver. I'm not the same kid anymore."

"It hasn't been that long," Oliver casually disagreed as he headed towards the door. "It's been, uh, nice seeing you, Megan. I wish it had been under better circumstances, but duty calls. Thanks for taking care of Mom and Dad. I'll try to visit you, but..."

As Oliver stood by the door, he couldn't finish his sentence and only trailed off. It was awkward to mention that he had already cut ties with his parents. And, coincidentally, it would be hard to see his sister again.

"Don't have to thank me, just go," Megan smiled and shook her head as she waved Oliver goodbye. "Take care of the bad guys, big bro. I'm rooting for you."

"Yeah. Heh. Yeah," Oliver's expression dropped as he faced the door. "Take care, Megan."

Oliver let himself out and closed the door behind him.

He knew he could've put up a better argument. Oliver could have at least tried to convince his litter sister to come with him. But, Oliver soon convinced himself that it was for the best.

Walking down the hallway one last time, Oliver realized that the New World wasn't for everyone. It would've been better for Megan to stay here where it was safe. Well, as safe as it could be from physical threats.

Oliver scoffed as he realized that he'd rather deal with the monsters out there than the monsters in this building.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Jack greeted as he saw Oliver come out of the entrance.

"Fine," Oliver casually responded. "As fine as it's ever going to get."

"Good," Jack nodded and quickly changed the subject, "Listen. I've got an idea on how to find Nea."

"Oh?"

"We use Strider. He's got that canine smell thing, right? I'm sure we could use that to find Nea in the city," Jack proposed.

"As good as an idea that is, Strider alone can't cover the entire city," Oliver said as he got into the car. "We need a lead. Let's start with that."

"Well," Jack slammed the car doors once he got in, "Got any ideas?"

"Let's see," Oliver titled his head up and closed his eyes. "Well, we were in the West Blockade, right? As far as I can tell, the Goliaths in the report were on the opposite side."

"To the East it is."

That said, Jack started the car and drove out of the pavilion. Oliver gave directions on how to get to their destination. But, other than that, he kept quiet.

A lot of things were on his mind as they drove through the city. Oliver wouldn't admit it, nor would he talk about his feelings. Oliver just had to process the things that had happened. Silently and alone.

As they drove through the city, Jack didn't stop until he found a suitable place to park. That said, they soon went inside a parking building that was six stories tall.

"Can't believe there's a building as ugly as this one smack dab in the middle of the city," Jack commented as he reversed the car.

"Ugly or not, this place rakes in a lot of cash," Oliver responded as he looked out the window, "They tried to cover up its blandness with a bunch of street artists, though. Too bad people vandalized them and made the place look even worse."

"Yeah, the place does look like shit, huh?" Jack agreed before getting down to business, "Anyway, we're here. What do we do now?"

"Now, I'm going to go with Strider to the roof and see what we could gather from there," Oliver answered, "Meanwhile, you guys can stay here."

"You don't have to keep benching us, you know," Jack answered, clearly about to go against Oliver's orders. To which, Oliver turned to the gnome and saw that it was looking at him the same way.

"Alright, fine," Oliver sighed and stepped out of the car, "Let's get a move on."